EP3007432B1 - Image acquisition device and image acquisition method - Google Patents

Image acquisition device and image acquisition method Download PDF

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Publication number
EP3007432B1
EP3007432B1 EP14807811.6A EP14807811A EP3007432B1 EP 3007432 B1 EP3007432 B1 EP 3007432B1 EP 14807811 A EP14807811 A EP 14807811A EP 3007432 B1 EP3007432 B1 EP 3007432B1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
image
image sensor
forming apparatus
image forming
images
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EP14807811.6A
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German (de)
English (en)
French (fr)
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EP3007432A1 (en
EP3007432A4 (en
Inventor
Yasuhiko ADACHI
Yoshihide SAWADA
Yoshikuni Sato
Hideto Motomura
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Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co Ltd
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Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co Ltd
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Publication of EP3007432A4 publication Critical patent/EP3007432A4/en
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    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N23/00—Cameras or camera modules comprising electronic image sensors; Control thereof
    • H04N23/95—Computational photography systems, e.g. light-field imaging systems
    • H04N23/951—Computational photography systems, e.g. light-field imaging systems by using two or more images to influence resolution, frame rate or aspect ratio
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N23/00—Cameras or camera modules comprising electronic image sensors; Control thereof
    • H04N23/70—Circuitry for compensating brightness variation in the scene
    • H04N23/74—Circuitry for compensating brightness variation in the scene by influencing the scene brightness using illuminating means
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N23/00—Cameras or camera modules comprising electronic image sensors; Control thereof
    • H04N23/80—Camera processing pipelines; Components thereof
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04N—PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION
    • H04N23/00—Cameras or camera modules comprising electronic image sensors; Control thereof
    • H04N23/60—Control of cameras or camera modules
    • H04N23/667—Camera operation mode switching, e.g. between still and video, sport and normal or high- and low-resolution modes

Definitions

  • the present application relates to an image forming apparatus, image forming method and program.
  • a two-dimensional image sensor in which a lot of photoelectric conversion sections are arranged in columns and rows within its imaging surface has been used as an image sensor for an image capture device.
  • Each of those photoelectric conversion sections is typically a photodiode which has been formed on a semiconductor layer or in a semiconductor substrate, and generates electric charges based on the light incident thereon.
  • the resolution of the two-dimensional image sensor depends on the arrangement pitch or density of the photoelectric conversion sections on the imaging surface. However, since the arrangement pitch of the photoelectric conversion sections has become almost as short as the wavelength of visible radiation, it is very difficult to further increase the resolution.
  • An image captured by the image sensor is comprised of a lot of pixels, each of which is defined by a unit region including a single photoelectric conversion section. Since there is an area to be occupied by wiring on the imaging surface, the photosensitive area S2 of a single photoelectric conversion section is smaller than the area S1 of a single pixel.
  • the ratio (S2/S1) of the photosensitive area S2 to the area S1 of each pixel is called an "aperture ratio", which may be approximately 25%, for example. If the aperture ratio is low, the amount of light that can be used for photoelectric conversion decreases, and therefore, the quality of a pixel signal to be output by the image sensor declines.
  • the photosensitive area S2 can be increased so effectively that the aperture ratio (S2/S1) can be raised to the vicinity of one. Nevertheless, even if the aperture ratio (S2/S1) is increased in this manner, the arrangement pitch and arrangement density of pixels do not increase, and therefore, the resolution does not change.
  • Patent Document No. 1 discloses how to increase the resolution by super-resolution technique. To increase the resolution by such a technique, restoration needs to be done by deconvolution, and therefore, a point spread function (PSF) should be obtained. For example, to determine the PSF actually, a dotted light source needs to be used. That is why it has been proposed that the PSF be obtained using quantum dots or fluorescence beads.
  • EP 0 889 644 A1 discloses a high resolution image acquisition device and an image capturing method for converting an image recorded on a movie film into a video signal. High resolution images can be obtained by combining image information from two different images. In one of these images, the light reaching the CCD has been deflected by the deflecting means. The light from the light source is deflected by means of a movable glass plate placed between film and CCD.
  • US 2009/0134328 A1 discloses a method and apparatus for taking images of potions of a living body, e.g. fingerprints or hand veins. To obtain a high quality image, images are combined which have been taken under variation of illumination conditions. To this end, the apparatus comprises an illumination light source section with different light sources.
  • JP 2001/136350 A discloses an image input device with a lighting device that emits light to an object to light up the object, an image acquisition device that converts the optical image of the object into an electric signal, and a controller that controls the operations of the lighting device and the image acquisition device.
  • the controller controls an optical shift device to change the position of the optical image of the object into a plurality of image forming positions.
  • Patent Document No. 1 Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2006-140885
  • the resolution can be increased by synthesizing together a plurality of low-resolution images that have been captured by a single image sensor.
  • FIG. 1 is a plan view schematically illustrating a portion of the imaging surface of a CCD image sensor which is an exemplary image sensor 113.
  • a number of photodiodes (photoelectric conversion sections) 40 are arranged in columns and rows on the imaging surface.
  • a single pixel 50 is indicated by the dotted rectangle.
  • each photodiode 40 generates electric charges inside the photodiode 40.
  • the amount of the electric charges generated varies according to the amount of the light that has been incident on that photodiode 40.
  • the electric charges generated by each photodiode 40 move to, and are sequentially transferred through, a vertical charge transfer path 44 which runs vertically to enter a horizontal charge transfer path 46.
  • the electric charges are transferred through the horizontal charge transfer path 46 which runs horizontally and are output as a pixel signal through one end of the horizontal charge transfer path 46, out of this image sensor 113.
  • transfer electrodes are arranged on these charge transfer paths 44 and 46.
  • the image sensor 113 for use in an image forming apparatus according to the present disclosure does not have to have this configuration.
  • the CCD image sensor may be replaced with an MOS image sensor.
  • the vertical arrangement pitch of the photodiodes 40 does not have to agree with their horizontal arrangement pitch.
  • the vertical and horizontal arrangement pitches of the photodiodes 40 are supposed to be equal to each other and are both supposed to be K [ ⁇ m] for the sake of simplicity.
  • FIG. 2 is a plan view schematically illustrating a single pixel 50 and a photodiode 40 included in the pixel 50.
  • the size of each pixel is K [ ⁇ m] ⁇ K [ ⁇ m]
  • the size of the photodiode 40 i.e., the size of its photosensitive area
  • S1 K ⁇ K
  • S2 P ⁇ P.
  • the resolution is determined in this embodiment by the size of the photodiode 40 (i.e., the size of its photosensitive area), not by the pixel pitch.
  • the size P of the photodiode 40 may be set to be equal to or greater than 0.1 ⁇ m.
  • each photodiode 40 In the image forming apparatus of the present disclosure, no micro lenses are provided for each photodiode 40. That is why the rest of each pixel 50 other than the photosensitive area (i.e., the area with the size P ⁇ P) of the photodiode 40 is an "opaque area". The light incident on the opaque area is not photoelectrically converted and does not generate any pixel signal, either.
  • the photosensitive area indicated by P [ ⁇ m] ⁇ P [ ⁇ m] may be called an "aperture area".
  • the location, shape and size of the photodiode 40 in each pixel 50 do not have to be the exemplary ones illustrated in FIG. 2 .
  • the pixel region and photodiode typically have a rectangular shape on the imaging surface.
  • supposing n and m are real numbers
  • the ratio of the photodiode's size to the pixel region's size as measured horizontally in the imaging surface can be represented by (1/n)
  • the ratio of the photodiode's size to the pixel region's size as measured vertically in the imaging surface can be represented by (1/m).
  • the aperture ratio can be represented by (1/n) ⁇ (1/m), where n and m may both be real numbers which are equal to or greater than two.
  • FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating an exemplary cross-sectional structure for a single pixel 50 included in the image sensor 113.
  • the image sensor includes a semiconductor substrate 400, a photodiode (PD) 40 which has been formed on the surface of the semiconductor substrate 400, an interconnect layer 402 supported on the semiconductor substrate 400, an opaque layer 42 which covers the interconnect layer 402, and a transparent layer 406 which covers the light incident side of the semiconductor substrate 400.
  • FIG. 3 illustrates a cross section of a portion corresponding to a single pixel, only one photodiode 40 is shown in FIG. 3 . Actually, however, a huge number of photodiodes 40 are arranged on the single semiconductor substrate 400.
  • the image sensor 113 is a CCD image sensor, a doped layer (not shown) functioning as a vertical or horizontal charge transfer path is provided under the interconnect layer 402 in the semiconductor substrate 400.
  • the interconnect layer 402 is connected to an electrode (not shown) which is arranged on the charge transfer path.
  • MOS transistors are arranged on a pixel-by-pixel basis on the semiconductor substrate 400. Each of those MOS transistors functions as a switching element to extract electric charges from its associated photodiode 40.
  • Every component of the image sensor 113 but the photodiode 40 is covered with the opaque layer 42.
  • the region covered with the opaque layer 42 is filled in black.
  • the image sensor for use in this embodiment does not have to have such a configuration but may also be a CCD or MOS image sensor of a backside illumination type, for example.
  • FIGS. 4A and 4B are cross-sectional views schematically illustrating an exemplary general configuration for an image forming apparatus according to the present disclosure.
  • the image forming apparatus illustrated in FIGS. 4A and 4B includes an illumination unit 111 which sequentially emits illuminating light beams from multiple different light source directions (irradiation directions) with respect to an object 30 and irradiates the object 30 with the illuminating light beams, and an image sensor 113 which is arranged at a position where the illuminating light beams that have been transmitted through the object 30 are incident and which captures a plurality of different images in the multiple different irradiation directions, respectively.
  • This image forming apparatus further includes an image processing section 12 which forms a high-resolution image based on the plurality of images that have been captured in the multiple different irradiation directions.
  • This image processing section 12 can form a high-resolution image of the object which has a higher resolution than any of the plurality of images provided by the image sensor 113.
  • the image processing section 12 may be implemented as either a general-purpose computer or a dedicated computer.
  • the illuminating unit 111 makes an illuminating light beam incident on the object 30 from a first direction.
  • the image sensor 113 is going to capture a second image (see FIG. 4B )
  • the illuminating unit 111 makes an illuminating light beam incident on the object 30 from a second direction.
  • the ones incident on the opaque layer 42 are not used to capture any image. In other words, only the light rays that have been incident on the photodiode 40 are used to capture images among the light rays that have been emitted from the illuminating unit 111.
  • the light ray may have been transmitted through different regions of the object 30 before being incident on the photodiode 40.
  • the plurality of irradiation directions are adjusted so that while the image sensor 113 is capturing a plurality of images, at least some of the light rays that have been transmitted through the same portion of the object 30 are incident on the photoelectric conversion section of the image sensor 113.
  • the object 30 that can be shot by the image forming apparatus of the present disclosure is a matter, at least a part of which is a region that can transmit a light ray.
  • the object 30 may be a microscope slide including a pathological sample with a thickness of several ⁇ m.
  • the object 30 does not have to have a plate shape but may also be powder or liquid as well.
  • the object 30 may have a size of 2 ⁇ m or less, for example.
  • FIGS. 5A , 5B and 5C a first exemplary configuration for the illumination unit 111 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5A , 5B and 5C .
  • the illumination unit 111 with this first exemplary configuration includes a plurality of light sources (illuminating light sources) 10a, 10b and 10c, which are arranged at respectively different positions corresponding to multiple different irradiation directions and are turned ON sequentially.
  • light sources 10a, 10b and 10c which are arranged at respectively different positions corresponding to multiple different irradiation directions and are turned ON sequentially.
  • the light source 10a is turned ON, light is emitted from the light source 10a and irradiates the object 30 as shown in FIG. 5A .
  • FIGS. 5A to 5C the light emitted from the light sources 10a, 10b and 10c is illustrated as if the light was diverging.
  • the distances from the light sources 10a, 10b and 10c to the image sensor 113 are so long that the light incident on the object 30 and image sensor 113 may be regarded as substantially parallel.
  • the light radiated from the light sources 10a, 10b and 10c may also be converged by an optical system such as a lens (not shown) into a parallel light beam or a quasi-parallel light beam. That is why the light sources 10a , 10b and 10c may be either point light sources or surface-emitting light sources.
  • the object 30 is put on the upper surface of the image sensor 113.
  • the upper surface of the image sensor 113 is indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 5A and functions as an object supporting portion 112.
  • an image is captured by the image sensor 113 while the object 30 is irradiated with the light emitted from the light source 10a .
  • the light source 10b for example, is turned ON and the light sources 10a and 10c are turned OFF. In this case, light is emitted from the light source 10b and irradiates the object 30 as shown in FIG. 5B .
  • an image is captured by the image sensor 113 while the object 30 is irradiated with the light emitted from the light source 10b.
  • the light source 10c is turned ON and the light sources 10a and 10b are turned OFF. In this case, light is emitted from the light source 10c and irradiates the object 30 as shown in FIG. 5C . In such a state, another image is captured by the image sensor 113.
  • the object 30 is irradiated with light beams coming from three different irradiation directions, and an image is captured every time the object 30 is irradiated with a light beam.
  • three images are captured in total.
  • multiple light sources with respectively different emission wavelengths may be arranged close to each other in the same irradiation direction. For example, if light sources which emit red, green and blue light beams (which will be hereinafter referred to as "RGB light sources”) are arranged at and near the position of the light source 10a shown in FIG.
  • RGB light sources red, green and blue light beams
  • three images can be captured by sequentially radiating the red, green and blue light beams in the state shown in FIG. 5A . And once those three images are captured, a full-color image can be obtained just by superposing those images one upon the other. These images are time-sequential color images.
  • the RGB light sources are turned ON simultaneously, these light sources can function as a single white light source.
  • a white light source may be used as the light source.
  • the wavelength of the light sources that the illumination unit 111 has does not have to fall within the visible radiation range but may also fall within the infrared or ultraviolet range as well.
  • white light may be emitted from each of those light sources.
  • cyan, magenta and yellow light beams may be emitted from those light sources.
  • the illumination unit 111 includes at least one light source 10 which is supported so as to be movable. By moving this light source 10, light can be emitted from any of multiple irradiation directions and can irradiate the object 30.
  • the light sources 10a, 10b and 10c do not have to be fixed at particular positions but may also be supported movably.
  • a light beam emitted from a single fixed light source 10 may have its optical path changed by an actuated optical system such as a mirror so as to be incident on the object 30 from a different direction.
  • the irradiation direction is supposed to change within a plane which is parallel to the paper.
  • the irradiation direction may also define a tilt angle with respect to that plane.
  • zooming i.e., resolution enhancement
  • the intended zoom power is n (where n is an integer that is equal to or greater than two), at least n 2 light sources may be used.
  • the "irradiation direction" of illuminating light is determined by the relative arrangement of its light source with respect to the object (or imaging surface).
  • the imaging surface is regarded as a reference plane and the direction from which an illuminating light ray has come before being incident on the imaging surface is defined to be the "irradiation direction”.
  • the irradiation direction Supposing the horizontal and vertical directions on the imaging surface are X and Y axes, respectively, and a normal to the imaging surface is Z axis, the irradiation direction may be specified by a vector in the XYZ coordinate system.
  • the irradiation direction may be an arbitrary one, so is the number of irradiation directions.
  • the irradiation direction that is perpendicular to the imaging surface may be represented by the vector (0, 0, 1) .
  • sixteen different irradiation directions ⁇ 1 through ⁇ 16 may be represented by the vectors (0, 0, L), (K/4, 0, L), (2K/4, 0, L), (3K/4, 0, L), (0, K/4, L), (K/4, K/4, L), (2K/4, K/4, L), (3K/4, K/4, L), (0, 2K/4, L), (K/4, 2K/4, L), (2K/4, 2K/4, L), (3K/4, 2K/4, L), (0, 3K/4, L), (K/4, 3K/4, L), (2K/4, 3K/4, L), (2K/4, 3K/4, L) and (3K/4, 3K/4, L), respectively.
  • Another angle at which the same images can be captured may also be adopted.
  • FIGS. 7 to 9 the directions in which the illuminating light beams are incident will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9 , in each of which shown is a light beam incident on a photodiode 40 of interest.
  • each pixel of the image sensor 113 is supposed to include a plurality of subpixels.
  • the number of subpixel regions is not unique to the structure of the image sensor 113 but may be set based on the number of times the object is irradiated with light beams with its irradiation direction changed while images are captured.
  • a single pixel 50 includes four subpixels 50a, 50b, 50c, and 50d. Since a single pixel includes a single photodiode 40, information about fine regions associated with those subpixels 50a, 50b, 50c, and 50d cannot be obtained individually from the object 30 in a normal image capturing session. That is to say, in this description, the "plurality of subpixels included in each pixel of the image sensor" refers herein to multiple divisions of a single pixel region allocated to each photodiode of the image sensor.
  • the object 30 may be arranged either in contact with, or close to, the upper surface 48 of the image sensor 113 while images are captured.
  • the upper surface 48 of the image sensor 113 can function as an object supporting portion (object supporting surface).
  • object supporting surface object supporting surface
  • their surface that forms part of the upper surface 48 of the image sensor 113 is defined herein to be the "subpixel's upper surface”.
  • each pixel 50a, 50b, 50c, and 50d are arranged in a single pixel 50 along the X axis shown in FIG. 7 .
  • the subpixels may be arranged in any other arbitrary pattern.
  • the subpixels may be arranged two-dimensionally according to the spread of the imaging surface.
  • each pixel is supposed to be comprised of four subpixels which are arranged one-dimensionally in the X-axis direction for the sake of simplicity, and attention is paid to only one pixel.
  • the illuminating light rays are incident perpendicularly onto the imaging surface.
  • Such illuminating light rays are obtained by irradiating the image sensor 113 with the light emitted from the light source 10a shown in FIG. 5A .
  • the light rays that have been transmitted through the respective upper surfaces of the subpixels 50a, 50b, 50c and 50d are incident on the photodiode 40 at ratios of 1/2, 1, 1/2 and 0, respectively.
  • the amount of light transmitted through the upper surface of the subpixel 50b and incident on the photodiode 40 is the unity (i.e., one)
  • the amount of light transmitted through the upper surface of the subpixel 50a and incident on the photodiode 40 is 1/2.
  • a half of the light transmitted through the upper surface of the subpixel 50c is incident on the photodiode 40, while the other half is incident on an opaque film 42.
  • all of the light transmitted through the upper surface of the subpixel 50d is incident on the opaque film 42, not on the photodiode 40.
  • the numerical values "1/2, 1, 1/2 and 0" defining the "ratios" described above are only an example. Alternatively, the ratios may be represented either by 3 or more common fractions or by decimal fractions. If the imaging device 113 has a different structure (e.g., if the imaging device 113 has a different aperture ratio), these ratios may change.
  • FIG. 9 look at FIG. 9 , in which the illuminating light rays are incident obliquely onto the imaging surface.
  • Such illuminating light rays are obtained by irradiating the image sensor 113 with the light emitted from the light source 10c shown in FIG. 5C .
  • the light rays that have been transmitted through the respective upper surfaces of the subpixels 50a, 50b, 50c and 50d are incident on the photodiode 40 at ratios of 1, 1/2, 0 and 0, respectively.
  • FIG. 10 look at FIG. 10 , in which the illuminating light rays are incident obliquely onto the imaging surface from the irradiation direction opposite from the one shown in FIG. 9 .
  • Such illuminating light rays are obtained by irradiating the image sensor 113 with the light emitted from the light source 10b shown in FIG. 5B , for example.
  • the light rays that have been transmitted through the respective upper surfaces of the subpixels 50a, 50b, 50c and 50d are incident on the photodiode 40 at ratios of 0, 0, 1/2, and 1, respectively.
  • the irradiation direction By adjusting the irradiation direction, light can be incident on the image sensor 113 from an arbitrary one of multiple different directions. And the "ratio" described above is determined by choosing one of those multiple different irradiation directions. If the structure of the image sensor 113 is known, the ratio may be either calculated or obtained by computer simulation. Or the ratio may also be determined by actual measurement using a calibration sample.
  • FIG. 11 illustrates a state where the object 30 is put on the upper surface 48 of the image sensor 113 and irradiated with light rays coming from an irradiation direction that intersects with the imaging surface at right angles.
  • Portions of the object 30 which face the respective upper surfaces of the subpixels 50a, 50b, 50c, and 50d will be hereinafter referred to as "subpixel portions S1 to S4" of the object 30.
  • the optical transmittances of those subpixel portions S1 through S4 will be identified herein by S1 to S4, too.
  • the transmittances S1 to S4 of the object 30 depend on the tissue architecture or structure of the object 30 and form part of pixel information of a high-definition image of the object 30.
  • the amounts of light rays transmitted through the subpixel portions S1 to S4 of the object 30 and incident on the photodiode 40 can be represented by values obtained by multiplying the transmittances S1 to S4 by the ratios described above. If the numerical values defining the ratios are 1/2, 1, 1/2 and 0, respectively, the amounts of light rays transmitted through the respective subpixel portions S1 to S4 and then incident on the photodiode 40 are S1/2, S2, S3/2 and 0, respectively. That is to say, the output of the photodiode 40 will have magnitude corresponding to S1/2 + S2 + S3/2.
  • the transmittances S1 to S4 can be determined by computation.
  • FIG. 12A is a table showing the relations between the output values A 1 to A 4 of the photodiode 40 which have been obtained in the respective irradiation directions J1 to J4 and the transmittances S1 to S4. If j is 1 to 4, the set of output values A 1 to A 4 can be represented by A j , which is a vector.
  • a matrix consisting of the numerical values in four columns and four rows on the table shown in FIG. 12A will be hereinafter referred to as a "matrix M i j ", where i is equal to the number of subpixels allocated to a single pixel.
  • a vector consisting of the transmittances S1 to S4 which are unknown quantities can be represented by S i .
  • the equation M 1 j S i A j is satisfied.
  • the vector S i can be obtained by calculating the inverse matrix of the matrix M ij k with respect to the vector A j k obtained by capturing images.
  • the object is irradiated with light beams coming from n 2 different light source positions, thereby capturing n 2 images.
  • calibration needs to be made in advance with respect to the "convolution ratio" represented by the numerical values of the matrix M i j .
  • calibration can be made automatically by increasing the number of light sources provided.
  • the numerical values in the matrix M i J involve some errors. However, if these errors are evaluated when the inverse matrix is calculated to obtain the vector S i , a solution which is even closer to the true value can be obtained and the device can be calibrated. This point will be described in further detail below.
  • the errors that the numerical values included in the matrix M i j may involve can neither be calculated nor calibrated by calculation.
  • the zoom power is n and if the number of light sources provided is greater than n 2 (more specifically, equal to or greater than ((n + 1) ⁇ (n + 1) - 1)), then there is no need to calibrate the numerical values included in the matrix M i j in advance.
  • the shooting session may be carried out with the number of irradiation directions increased by one as in the tables shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B .
  • This point will be described as to a situation where the zoom power n is two for the sake of simplicity. That is to say, in the example to be described below, the number of subpixels is two and the object is irradiated with illuminating light beams coming from three different irradiation directions J1, J2 and J3.
  • FIG. 14 is a table showing exemplary ratios in such a situation.
  • the unknown quantities are S1 and S2.
  • the pixel value obtained when an image is captured with an illuminating light beam coming from the irradiation direction J1 is A1.
  • the pixel value obtained when an image is captured with an illuminating light beam coming from the irradiation direction J2 is A2.
  • the pixel value obtained when an image is captured with an illuminating light beam coming from the irradiation direction J3 is A3.
  • Specific numerical values measured by capturing images are entered as A1, A2 and A3.
  • FIG. 15 shows three simultaneous equations to be satisfied between S1, S2, A1, A2 and A3.
  • the coefficients for S1 and S2 are equal to the numerical values of the ratios shown in FIG. 14 .
  • S1 and S2 ideally there should be two simultaneous equations.
  • FIG. 15 by using three simultaneous equations as shown in FIG. 15 , even if the numerical values of the ratios shown in FIG. 14 involve errors, a solution close to the true value can still be obtained.
  • FIG. 16 is a graph in which three lines represented by the three equations shown in FIG. 15 are drawn on a two-dimensional coordinate plane, of which the abscissa is S1 and ordinate is S2. If the ratios shown in FIG. 14 had no errors, then the three lines shown in FIG. 16 would intersect with each other at a point and the coordinates of that point would correspond to the solution to be obtained. Actually, however, three intersections are observed due to errors in the graph shown in FIG. 16 . These three intersections should be located in the vicinity of the true value. Thus, the central point of the delta zone surrounded with these three lines may be selected as the solution of the three simultaneous equations. The solution may also be obtained as a point at which the sum of the squares of the distances from the three lines becomes minimum. The solution thus determined is an estimated value of S1 and S2. As shown in FIG. 16 , the distances from the estimated solution to the three lines may be defined as "errors".
  • an image of the object 30 is captured with substantially parallel light rays transmitted through the object 30 (with a divergent angle of 1/100 radians or less).
  • the object 30 may be arranged close to the image sensor 113.
  • the interval between the imaging surface of the image sensor 113 and the object 30 is typically equal to or shorter than 100 ⁇ m and may be set to be approximately 1 ⁇ m, for example.
  • the resolution can be increased as much as fivefold at maximum.
  • Supposing N is an integer which is equal to or greater than two, if images are captured by irradiating the object with light beams from N ⁇ 2 different directions, the resolution can be increased N fold at maximum.
  • N fold with respect to a certain object 30 means that each pixel includes N ⁇ 2 subpixels. If the object 30 is sequentially irradiated with light from twenty-five light sources arranged in five rows and five columns, for example, of the illumination unit 111, such that twenty-five low-resolution images are captured, each pixel will have subpixels arranged in five rows and five columns.
  • the object 30 should not move or be deformed.
  • the object 30 and the image sensor 113 may be surrounded with walls that shut out external light so that no light other than the illuminating light is incident on the object 30 at least while images are being captured.
  • FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing a configuration for an image forming apparatus according to this embodiment.
  • this image forming apparatus 1 includes an image capturing processing section 11 with an illuminating function and an image capturing function, an image processing section 12 which generates and outputs a high-resolution image based on low-resolution images obtained by the image capturing processing section 11, and a storage device 13 which stores light source position information and the low-resolution image.
  • the image capturing processing section 11 includes the illumination unit 111, the object supporting portion 112 and the image sensor 113.
  • the illumination unit 111 has the configuration described above, and can irradiate the object with parallel light beams with a predetermined illuminance (and with a divergent angle of 1/100 radians or less, for example) from multiple directions.
  • the object supporting portion 112 supports the object so that the interval between the imaging surface of the image sensor 113 and the object becomes equal to or shorter than 10 mm (typically 1 mm or less).
  • the illumination unit 111 of this embodiment includes LEDs as light sources.
  • the illumination unit 111 includes LEDs in the three colors of RGB, which are arranged at respective positions.
  • the light sources do not have to be LEDs but may also be light bulbs, laser diodes or fiber lasers as well.
  • a lens or reflective mirror which transforms the light emitted from the light bulbs into a parallel light beam may be used.
  • the light sources may also emit infrared light or ultraviolet light.
  • Color filters which either change or filter out the wavelengths of the light emitted from the light sources may be arranged on the optical path. In this embodiment, twenty-five sets of light sources are arranged at twenty-five different light source positions.
  • the illumination unit 111 may include either a plurality of light sources as shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C or a single light source which is supported movably as shown in FIG. 6 so as to change the direction of the light that is going to be incident on the object.
  • the object supporting portion 112 is a member for supporting the object during an image capturing session, and may be the upper surface of the image sensor 113.
  • the object supporting portion 112 may have a mechanism to support the object so that its position does not change during an image capturing session.
  • the object supporting portion 112 may be configured to put the object 30 on the image sensor 113 with almost no gap left between them.
  • FIG. 18 illustrates the relative arrangement of the object 30 on the image sensor 113 with respect to the light source 10.
  • the distance D from the light source 10 to the object 30 may be set to be equal to or longer than 1 m, for example.
  • the distance from the image sensor 113 to the light source 10 may be set to be approximately 1 m. In that case, even if the light source has caused a positional shift X of several cm or so, the image quality will not be debased.
  • the image sensor 113 may be comprised of approximately 4800 ⁇ 3600 pixels, for example.
  • the pixel pitch K may be set to be approximately 1.3 ⁇ m.
  • the interval between the imaging surface and the upper surface of the image sensor, i.e., the interval L between the imaging surface and the object may be set to be approximately 1.3 ⁇ m, for example.
  • the aperture ratio of the image sensor 113 may be, but does not have to be, 25%.
  • FIG. 19 shows an exaggerated distribution of the angles of incidence of multiple light rays that have been emitted from a single light source 10.
  • a light ray is incident perpendicularly onto a region which is located right under the light source 10.
  • a light ray is incident obliquely onto a region which is located at an end portion of the imaging surface.
  • the distance D from the imaging surface to the light source 10 is set to be approximately 1 m.
  • L 1 ⁇ 10 -6 m.
  • the light coming from the light source should be incident perpendicularly but is incident obliquely onto such an end portion of the imaging surface. That is why the point of incidence of such an obliquely incident light ray shifts ⁇ X with respect to the point of incidence of the perpendicularly incident light ray.
  • C/D ⁇ x/L is satisfied.
  • the image processing section 12 of this embodiment includes an illumination condition adjusting section 121, an image information getting section 122, an estimate calculating section 123, and an image forming processing section 124. These components may be implemented as respective functional blocks of a computer that performs the function of the image processing section 12 and may have their functions performed by executing a computer program.
  • the storage device 13 includes a light source position information server 131 and a low-resolution image server 132.
  • the storage device 13 may be a hard disk drive, a semiconductor memory or an optical storage medium, or may also be a digital server which is connected to the image processing section 12 through a digital network such as the Internet.
  • the illumination condition adjusting section 121 of the image processing section 12 adjusts various illumination conditions (including the light source's position, its brightness, the light emission interval, and illuminance) imposed on the illumination unit 111.
  • the image information getting section 122 controls the image sensor 113 with the illumination conditions set appropriately for the illumination unit 111 and makes the image sensor 113 capture images as the light sources to be turned ON are changed one after another.
  • the image information getting section 122 receives data about the images (low-resolution images) captured by the image sensor 113 from the image sensor 113. Also, the image information getting section 122 gets pieces of information defining the illumination conditions (including irradiation directions, emission intensities, illuminance and wavelengths) from the illumination condition adjusting section 121 in association with the image data received.
  • the light source position information server 131 stores, in the form of a position database, information about the light source's position provided by the image information getting section 122.
  • the light source position information server 131 also stores a database of the matrix shown in FIG. 13 . Every time the numerical values of the matrix are adjusted by the estimate calculating section 123 to be described later, this database is rewritten.
  • the low-resolution image server 132 stores, as an image database, data about the low-resolution image gotten through the image information getting section 122 and information about the illumination conditions that were adopted when the low-resolution image was captured.
  • the image forming processing (to be described later) gets done, the data about the low-resolution image may be deleted from the image database.
  • the estimate calculating section 123 of the image processing section 12 In response to a signal indicating that an image capturing session has ended from the image information getting section 122, the estimate calculating section 123 of the image processing section 12 respectively gets light source position information and a low-resolution image from the light source position information server 131 and low-resolution image server 132 of the storage device 13. Then, the estimate calculating section 123 makes computations based on the principle described above, thereby estimating a high-resolution image and determining whether or not the estimation is a proper one. If the estimation is a proper one, the high-resolution image is output. Otherwise, the light source position information is changed.
  • the estimate calculating section 123 makes reference to the database in the light source position information server 131, gets the ratio defining the numerical values in the matrix, and estimates a high-resolution image based on the output of the image sensor 113. In this case, an estimated value and an error are obtained as described above. If the error exceeds a reference value (of 5%, for example), the processing of correcting the numerical value representing the ratio into another value may be performed.
  • the error ratio may be represented by error /
  • the experimental system may also be calibrated at the same time in order to increase the accuracy of the experiment from the next time and on.
  • calibration can be made and the error can be eliminated by translating and correcting the three lines so that all of those three lines pass through the same estimated value.
  • an opaque portion may be provided to prevent light from entering the image capturing area from outside of the object range.
  • an opaque area which limits the image capturing range may be arranged on the object supporting portion as shown in FIG. 21 .
  • an opaque member may be arranged on a side surface of the image sensor 113 as shown in FIG. 22 .
  • the image forming processing section 124 composes a high-resolution image based on the image information which has been provided by the estimate calculating section 123 and of which the properness has been proved, and subjects the image to color correction, de-mosaicing processing, grayscale correction ( ⁇ correction), YC separation processing, overlap correction and other kinds of correction.
  • the high-resolution image thus obtained is presented on a display (not shown) or output to outside of the image forming apparatus 1 through an output section.
  • the high-resolution image output through the output section may be written on a storage medium (not shown) or presented on another display.
  • the low-resolution image server 132 stores data about the low-resolution image which has been gotten by the image information getting section 122. While the estimate calculating section 123 is composing an image, necessary low-resolution image data is retrieved from the database of this low-resolution image server 132. When the image forming processing gets done, unnecessary data may be deleted from the low-resolution image server 132.
  • the image forming apparatus of the present disclosure can obtain an image which has been zoomed in at a high zoom power over the entire area without using a microscope which usually needs a lot of time for focusing. Consequently, even if the object is a pathological sample with a microscopic tissue, image data can be obtained at a high zoom power in a short time.
  • FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing the procedure in which the image forming apparatus 1 gets an image.
  • the object is mounted on the object supporting portion 112 (in Step S201).
  • the object is a pathological specimen.
  • the object may also be light-transmitting sample, of which the thickness is about several ⁇ m and of which the shape does not change during the image capturing session (such as a cell or a sliced tissue).
  • the image capturing session may be carried out with slide glass reversed, cover glass 32 put on the upper surface of the image sensor and the sample put on the cover glass.
  • Step S208 a pixel conditional expression to be used to form, by calculation, a high-resolution image based on respective low-resolution images is defined (in Step S208 ) and a pixel estimation calculation is carried out (in Step S210 ).
  • the error is rated and if the error has turned out to be less than a reference value, the high-resolution image obtained is output (in Step S212 ).
  • the numerical values stored in the storage device are corrected and then a pixel conditional expression is redefined (in Step S208 ).
  • a single low-resolution image is supposed to be captured for each light source position for the sake of simplicity.
  • this is only an example of an embodiment of the present disclosure. If three LED light sources (e.g., RGB LED light sources) are arranged at each light source position, then three low-resolution images may be captured for each light source position. Consequently, by capturing low-resolution images in full colors, a full-color high-resolution image can be obtained eventually.
  • three LED light sources e.g., RGB LED light sources
  • the number of multiple different irradiation directions is supposed to be twenty-five. However, the number of irradiation directions may also be less than or greater than twenty-five.
  • FIG. 24 is a block diagram illustrating an image forming apparatus as a second embodiment of the present invention.
  • its image processing section 12 further includes a light source position determining section 125 which determines the position of the light source through calibration of the light source position, which is a difference from the image forming apparatus of the first embodiment described above.
  • the light source position can be adjusted.
  • Step S210 If the decision has not been made in Step S210 that the error is less than the reference value (i.e., if the answer to the query of the processing step S210 is NO), then information about the light source position involving the most significant error is corrected (in Step S211 ). Then, if necessary, another low-resolution image is captured all over again with the object irradiated with light coming from the adjusted light source position (in Step S203 ).
  • the vector S j representing a high-resolution image is not obtained by solving the inverse matrix. Instead, a high-resolution image is generated by using general super-resolution processing.
  • supposing the image size of a high-resolution image is w ⁇ h
  • the inverse matrix of a matrix wh ⁇ wh should be obtained. That is why the larger the image size, the more difficult it is to get computation done.
  • super-resolution processing can get done by making computation within real time. For that reason, it is easy even for a computer with low computational ability to get the super-resolution processing done, which is beneficial.
  • Y is a zoomed-in image to be described below
  • X is a high-resolution image to be obtained
  • D is the convolution ratio
  • H(.) represents conversion into a frequency domain.
  • H(D) -1 is given by Equation (2).
  • ⁇ is a parameter representing an SNR.
  • FIG. 26 illustrates how to form a zoomed-in image 2801 to obtain a high-resolution image at a zoom power of 2x.
  • Y corresponds to the zoomed-in image 2801.
  • the object needs to be irradiated with light beams from four directions.
  • the low-resolution image 2802 is captured when the object is irradiated with a light beam coming from right over the object.
  • the low-resolution image 2803 is captured when the illuminator is moved by a different distance only in the X-axis direction.
  • the low-resolution image 2804 is captured when the illuminator is moved by a different distance only in the Y-axis direction.
  • the low-resolution image 2805 is captured when moved along the bisector between the X- and Y-axis directions.
  • super-resolution processing is carried out by making computations in a frequency domain using a Wiener filter.
  • the super-resolution processing does not always have to be carried out in this manner.
  • Equation (3) is obtained by differentiating Equation (4) with X ij t .
  • X ij t represents the (i, j) th pixel value in the image X when the same computation is carried out for the t th time
  • ⁇ represents a parameter at the time of update.
  • a cost function may also be used by adding L2 norm or L1 norm to Equation (3) with noise in the image taken into account.
  • a high-resolution image can be obtained within real time.
  • the super-resolution processing can also be carried out based on pixels falling within only a limited range as shown in FIG. 20 .
  • the image may be divided into multiple small regions and different kinds of resolution enhancement processing, including inverse matrix computation, can be carried out in the respective small regions.
  • no resolution enhancement processing may be carried out in regions where the resolution enhancement processing does not need to be carried out (as in small regions where the object is not shot on the image).
  • Methods of obtaining a high-resolution image vary in speed and accuracy of computation. That is why by getting computation done speedily in an unimportant region around the background and by carrying out the processing accurately in a small region where the object is shot on the image, only a region that the user wants to view can have its resolution increased selectively.
  • FIG. 27 illustrates, like a practice examination, a configuration for a modified example including a holder which holds the object and image sensor (which will be hereinafter referred to as an "object of shooting 140 ") in an attachable and removable state.
  • the object of shooting 140 can be a "prepared specimen" in which the object and image sensor are combined together.
  • an angle of illumination adjusting section has a mechanism which changes the orientation of the object of shooting 140.
  • This mechanism includes two gonio systems 120 which can rotate the object within a perpendicular planes that intersect at right angles.
  • the gonio center 150 of the gonio systems 120 is located at the center of the object in the object of shooting 140.
  • the gonio system 120 can change the irradiation direction of the illuminating light, and therefore, the light source 10P may be fixed. Also, in this modified example, the light source 10P is configured to emit a parallel light beam. Alternatively, the image forming apparatus of this modified example may include a plurality of parallel light beam sources 10P as shown in FIG. 28 .
  • the configuration in which the light source 10P is fixed and the object of shooting 140 is moved is preferred to the configuration in which the object of shooting 140 is fixed and the light source 10P is moved, because the former configuration contributes to getting the shooting session done in a shorter time.
  • the distance L1 from the object of shooting 140 to the light source 10P is so much longer than the interval L2 between the object and the image sensor that form the object of shooting 140 that the light source 10P should be significantly moved proportionally to the long distance according to the latter configuration.
  • FIG. 29 illustrates a configuration for a modified example in which a mechanism for changing the object's orientation includes a gonio system 120 and a rotating mechanism 122.
  • a mechanism for changing the object's orientation includes a gonio system 120 and a rotating mechanism 122.
  • the object of shooting 140 can be irradiated with an illuminating light beam coming from any arbitrary irradiation direction.
  • a point 150 is located at the gonio center and at the center of rotation.
  • the image forming apparatus of this modified example may include a plurality of parallel light beam sources 10P as shown in FIG. 30 .
  • FIG. 31 illustrates an exemplary optical system which can increase the degree of parallelism of the light emitted from a light source and can make a parallel light beam incident on the object.
  • a lens 130 which collimates divergent light emitted from the light source is provided for an XY moving mechanism (moving stage) 124.
  • the object of shooting 140 can be moved by an arbitrary distance along the X axis and/or the Y axis within a horizontal plane.
  • FIG. 32 illustrates how an illuminating light beam is incident obliquely onto the object of shooting 140 which has moved a predetermined distance in a specified direction within a horizontal plane. Even if the position of the light source 10a is fixed, the irradiation direction of the illuminating light beam can also be controlled by adjusting the position of the object of shooting 140.
  • the image forming apparatus of this modified example may include a plurality of light sources as shown in FIG. 33 . If a plurality of light sources 10a, 10b and 10c are provided as shown in FIG. 33 , then the mechanism to move the object of shooting 140 may be omitted or an XY moving mechanism (moving stage) 124 may be provided as shown in FIG. 34 .
  • an illuminating light beam can be made incident on the object of shooting 140 at any intended angle of incidence.
  • FIG. 38 illustrates schematically a configuration for a modified example in which two gonio systems 120 support a parallel light beam source 10P.
  • FIG. 39 illustrates schematically a configuration for a modified example in which a gonio system 120 and a rotating mechanism 122 support a parallel light beam source 10P.
  • the vertical size of each photodiode is expressed as 1/s of that of its associated pixel region, and the horizontal size of that photodiode is expressed as 1/t of that of the pixel region, where s and t are both real numbers and do not have to be integers.
  • the aperture ratio is given by (1/s) ⁇ (1/t).
  • the object may be irradiated with illuminating light beams in respective irradiation directions in which a different angles of irradiation are defined with respect to the vertical direction in the imaging surface, and images may be captured in those directions, respectively.
  • the object may be irradiated with illuminating light beams in respective irradiation directions in which b different angles of irradiation are defined with respect to the horizontal direction in the imaging surface, and images may be captured in those directions, respectively.
  • a and b are integers which satisfy a ⁇ s and b ⁇ t.
  • low-resolution images are captured on a "a ⁇ b" basis, and an image, of which the resolution has increased "a ⁇ b" fold, can be obtained based on these low-resolution images.
  • the product of (1/s) ⁇ (1/t) representing the image sensor's aperture ratio and a ⁇ b becomes equal to or greater than one.
  • An image forming apparatus may include an illumination system with a tilting mechanism which tilts the object and the image sensor together. In that case, even if the light source's position is fixed, the irradiation direction with respect to the object can be changed by getting the object and the image sensor rotated by the tilting mechanism.
  • Such an illumination system can sequentially emit illuminating light beams from multiple different irradiation directions with respect to the object by tilting the object and the image sensor together.
  • An image forming method includes the steps of: sequentially emitting illuminating light beams from multiple different irradiation directions with respect to an object and irradiating the object with the illuminating light beams; capturing a plurality of different images in the multiple different irradiation directions, respectively, using an imaging device which is arranged at a position where the illuminating light beams that have been transmitted through the object are incident; and forming a high-resolution image of the object, having a higher resolution than any of the plurality of images, based on the plurality of images.
  • an image forming apparatus may include the illumination unit and image sensor described above and a general-purpose computer.
  • the computer may be configured to: make the illumination unit sequentially emit illuminating light beams from multiple different irradiation directions with respect to an object and irradiate the object with the illuminating light beams; capture a plurality of different images in the multiple different irradiation directions, respectively, using an imaging device which is arranged at a position where the illuminating light beams that have been transmitted through the object are incident; and form a high-resolution image of the object, having a higher resolution than any of the plurality of images, based on one with the plurality of images.
  • Such an operation may be performed in accordance with a computer program which is stored on a storage medium.
  • a light source which irradiates the object with light and of which the orientation and position are fixed is used and if a tilting mechanism which tilts the object at multiple tilt angles is provided, an image sensor which is arranged at a position where the light that has been transmitted through the object is incident and the object can get tilted together by the tilting mechanism, and a plurality of images can be captured at the multiple tilt angles.
  • An image forming apparatus, image forming method and image processing program according to the present disclosure contributes to getting an image at a high zoom power with the trouble of adjusting the focus saved.

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